1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of Thoracic-lumbar-sacral corrective orthosis, known by its acronym "TLSO", for supporting, controlling and correcting poor structural and postural curvature and deformities of the spine, and more particularly for TLSO devices which can be worn by ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients when they are in or out of a seat, on a bed, and the like and which provides a means to conveniently and comfortably secure a patient in a wheelchair when desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous devices available to aid in stabilizing the spine and back of a patient.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,185 to Fuller, the brace has a back portion with two waist straps which wrap around the patient's waist. The back portion has one layer of Velcro.RTM. hook and loop attachment material to hook onto complementary Velcro.RTM. attachment material which is fixed to the back of a chair or wheelchair. However, the Fuller device lacks a lumbar support pad, does not adequately support the patient's spine, and does not allow for gradual correction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,737 to Jordan discloses a support harness for use for children lacking trunk or head control to achieve and maintain a normal sitting position. However, as with the Fuller device, the Jordan device does not provide the proper contour for a patient's back in that it teaches using either no back board or a straight back board, and also does it provide for necessary lumbar support.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,264 to Lonardo, et al. teaches a medical appliance for treating spinal conditions. However, the appliance disclosed is bulky and significantly constricts the patient's freedom of movement.
The prior art devices are all relatively inconvenient to use and uncomfortable for the patient to wear. For example, when a patient wearing a device which lacks adequate back support is seated in a soft chair or wheelchair (having pliable backs), the patient's back will tend to bend and arch further out of correct alignment, thus causing discomfort or pain to the patient. This problem is acute for patient's who are seated in foldable wheelchair with flexible backs and seats which tend to hammock when a patient is seated. For patient's using prior art TLSO devices, the hammocking effects are particularly problematic and interfere with the manipulation a corrective effects sought to be achieved by using these TLSO devices.
Additionally, the prior art devices provide no convenient way to gradually correct and improve defects in the patient's spinal curvature and posture. Lastly, with the prior art devices, there is truly no effective way to comfortably, yet securely, prevent a seated patient wearing such devices from slouching or slumping forward or to one or both sides.